Washington DC - Laughter broke out during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on Wednesday when Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin said, "I don't want reality."

The hearing, entitled Solving the Child Care Crisis: Meeting the Needs of Working Families and Child Care Workers, delved into race and education, with Mullin taking particular offense to a book called Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli.

Holding up the book, Mullin quoted, "'A long time ago, way before you were born, a group of white people made up an idea called race. They sorted people by skin color and said that white people were better, smarter, prettier, and they deserved more than everybody else.'"

"This would be taught if we socialize our pre-K system, this would be," he claimed.

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Senate HELP Committee Chair Bernie Sanders asked if the Republican senator disagreed with what was stated in the book.

"1000%. How about we teach Jesus Loves Me? … and teaching Jesus loves and loves the little children," Mullin responded, referring to the hymn Jesus Loves the Little Children. "The lyrics go, 'Red and yellow, black and white. They’re all precious in our sight.'"

Mullin then challenged the panelists to answer whether it would be better to teach the song or the book to children.

He qualified his bizarre question by claiming he is "Cherokee Native American," saying, "I think we have experienced a little bit of racism before in my life."

When two of the witnesses attempted to answer, the senator spoke over them, preventing them from responding to his inquiry.

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The third witness, Virginia Alliance for Family Child Care Associations President Cheryl Morman, said, "I disagree. First, it is important that we teach Jesus and Jesus is what we teach. But the reality is ..."

That's when Mullin interjected with his now-viral remark, "I don’t want reality. I’m asking the question: which one is better?"

The room burst into laughs as an unknown senator can be heard saying, "Got it on tape."

"Misspoke," Mullin shot back.

The Oklahoma Republican previously made headlines when he told International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien to "shut your mouth" during a Senate HELP Committee hearing in March.